It Was Always Meant To Be
by GwenOwenforever
Summary: After the Doctor leaves Rose, the TARDIS refuses to leave her and finds a way to take him back to her.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, none of this belongs to me.

**A/N:** Just a random idea that popped into my head and I've been thinking about it for a couple of days. It's the end of series two but it doesn't follow any of the specials or series after.

"I…I love you." Rose told him, tears spilling down her face.

"Quite right to." He smiled weakly, fighting back his own tears. "And I suppose…if it's my last chance to say it…Rose Tyler…"

The Doctor faded, leaving Rose standing staring at the spot he'd vanished from.

She didn't hear Jackie running up behind her and jumped when her mother's arms wrapped around her.

Jackie held her daughter tight as she let her sob into her shoulder. It broke her heart as she felt Rose crumble into pieces in her arms.

After a while, Rose began to shake and her legs felt weak under her weight.

"Come on, let's go home." Jackie whispered, pulling her back towards Pete and the others.

"No, he might come back." Rose protested, struggling out of Jackie's hold.

She managed to break away and sat on a rock, watching the same spot closely for any return of the Doctor. Jackie watched her sadly and sat down next to her.

"Rose, he's not coming back." Jackie told her gently.

"How do you know?" Rose shouted and held her face in her hands.

She broke into fresh sobs.

Jackie stood up and walked back to the others.

"Is there a chance that he could come back?" She asked them.

Mickey shook his head slowly, staring at the floor. Pete looked over at the girl who he'd slowly been accepting as his daughter. It was strange how he'd felt a sense of trust in her the first day he'd met her, like he'd known her all her life.

He walked over to her and sat next to her. She looked up at him, her cheeks puffy and her eyes bloodshot.

"Rose, if he could come back, he would. He loves you. I could see that as soon as I met you both. But there is no way he can come back. He's gone." He told her.

"But, what if he can? What if he figures out a way to come back?" She asked.

Pete could see how she was clinging to this last bit of hope. Her eyes were filled with desperation and he couldn't answer her.

She let him pull her up and back to the car.

As he drove back to their new home, Rose gazed out the window watching the spot they'd left.

When it disappeared out of her sight, she pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tight. Everyone in the car was silent, not knowing what to say or what to do to make her pain go away. Mickey sat beside her in the back and glanced at her every couple of minutes. He reached out and took her hand. She squeezed his hand back and smiled weakly at him.


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor stood staring into space as he lost connection with Rose. He fought and lost the battle against his tears. He leant on the central controls and bowed his head as he cried.

When he looked up, he spotted Rose's jacket draped over the handrail. He walked over and stroked his hand over it. Picking it up, he held it to his face and breathed in Rose's scent. Fresh tears spilled over his cheeks as he thought about how he'd never again see her smile as he took her on a new adventure. Never again would he see her pink tongue run across her lip as she thought and laughed at little things. Never again would he laugh as she woke up in the mornings, grumpy with her hair sticking up all over the place. He loved her more than anything, an experience he'd never truly felt before and he was sure he never would again. He kicked himself mentally for leaving it this long to tell her. Even when he decided to tell her, they were cut off before the words could escape his lips.

The TARDIS began to make strange noises. The Doctor stroked the controls and knew, like him, she was crying.

"I know. I'm going to miss her too. But what can I do? If we go back, Rose's old universe and the parallel universe will collapse." He whispered. The TARDIS lurched to the side causing the Doctor to grab hold of the controls to keep himself standing. "No, stop it. We can't go back." He shouted.

The lights flickered and sparks flew from the controls.

It came to an abrupt stop and the Doctor was thrown across the TARDIS. He stood up slowly and listened for any sounds. The engine had stopped meaning they'd landed somewhere. He edged his way to the door and stepped out.

Looking around, he saw that it was night time and they were on the beach where he'd left Rose. Panic struck him, any minute now and the whole place would collapse.

He braced himself for the explosion but nothing happened. Frowning, he looked back at the TARDIS.

"What have you done and how did you do it?" He asked.


	3. Chapter 3

Rose tossed and turned in her sleep. She dreamt of the Daleks and the Cybermen, like every other night.

She was in the middle of the battle of Canary Wharf once again and the Daleks and Cybermen advanced on her from all around her. The Doctor stood helplessly in the background unable to do anything, unable to save her.

Like so many other nights, she woke up screaming his name. Every night since she'd been abandoned by the Doctor, she'd had the same dream. Every time she woke up screaming and crying.

After a while, her mum and dad stopped coming in to check on her, instead they listened to her sobbing through the wall feeling helpless.

She'd dreamt of hearing the TARDIS returning so many times. Sometimes, she'd run outside and look around frantically for any signs of the blue police box and find nothing.

So when she woke up almost a year later to the sound of the TARDIS engines far off in the distance, she put it down to her imagination and tried her hardest to get back to sleep.

She was disturbed by Jackie and Pete running into her room. Pete flicked the light on and the brightness blinded her. Throwing her arms over her face to shield from the light, she turned in the direction of their footsteps.

"Rose, did you hear that?" Jackie asked, sitting down on Rose's bed.

"Hear what?" She mumbled.

"Rose…I think it's him, the Doctor." Jackie whispered.

Rose sat up quickly and her eyes widened as she stared into her mother's. She looked up at Pete.

"What makes you think it was him?" She asked.

"We heard the TARDIS." Pete told her.

"You mean I wasn't imagining it this time?" She demanded.

Pete shook his head and smiled at her.

"We heard it." Jackie told her.

Rose flung the duvet off herself and onto the floor. She jumped out of bed and grabbed her robe. Shoving it on over her pyjamas, she ran out of the room.

"Dad, come on. Take me to him." She called over her shoulder.

"What now? Can't I get dressed first?" He asked.

Rose span around and pulled his arm.

"No now." She said, urgently.

Jackie followed them downstairs and ran into the kitchen. She grabbed the car keys off the table and threw them to Pete. He caught them one handed and ran out to the car where Rose was waiting impatiently. She yanked the door open as soon as he unlocked it and sat in the passenger's seat.

Jackie watched from the front door as they sped off into the night. Mickey had woken at the noise and joined her.

"Good luck." She shouted.

"Is it him?" Mickey asked.

"I think so, we heard the TARDIS." Jackie told him.

"But how? There's no way he could have come back without the universe collapsing." He frowned.

"I don't know. But he's here." Jackie smiled.

Pete shoved his foot down on the accelerator and watched the dial increase, a hundred miles an hour, a hundred and ten miles an hour. Rose fidgeted impatiently.

As they drew closer, she bit her lip and began to feel nervous. What would she say to him? Had he found another companion? Her heart sank at this thought and she tried to push it to the back of her mind.

When they reached the beach, she jumped out and began to run along it. The tide had come in and she was running in almost knee deep water but she didn't care. Her heart pounded as she saw the familiar outline of the police box growing in the distance.


	4. Chapter 4

The Doctor was still frowning as he continued to look at the TARDIS. He couldn't understand what had happened.

He turned when he heard something splashing noisily in the distance. He could just make out a figure running towards him and the water splashing out behind them. Luckily, the TARDIS had landed just where the water stopped.

He reached inside his coat pocket for his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the light on top of the police box. It turned on and lit up most of the beach. The light caught the hair of the figure.

The Doctor froze as he saw the blonde haired person coming towards him. There was no way of not knowing who it was.

"Rose." The Doctor whispered.

Rose ran up to him and flung herself at him. He stumbled and wrapped his arms tight around her as she wrapped hers around his neck. He lifted her off her feet and buried his face in her hair, closing his eyes as he took in her scent.

"Doctor, you're here." She sobbed.

"Yes, it's me. I'm here." He told her, his own tears of happiness rolling down his face.

She broke away and held his face in her hands.

"But how?" She asked.

"I don't know. I guess the TARDIS didn't want you to leave either. She must have figured a way to get back." He told her.

"I've missed you." Rose smiled.

"Me too, even though it's been…what? A couple of hours by the looks of it." He said.

"Doctor, you've been gone for almost a year." She told him.

He looked back at her in shock. He could see the pain and misery he'd caused her in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered.

She stroked his cheek with her thumb and caught his lips in a gentle kiss. He held her around her waist tightly and deepened the kiss. When they broke away, they looked deep into each other's eyes.

"It's ok. You're here now. I can come back with you again and we can be together." She told him.

"Rose, I'd think we'd better speak to your family first. I don't want to whisk you away without telling them." He said.

He could see her thinking of an argument to this but in the end she gave up and nodded.

"Come on, my dad's waiting in the car." She said.

As they walked back towards the car, he held her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. She looked up and smiled at him.

When they reached the car, the Doctor looked at Pete and smiled. He saw delight change to anger in his eyes.

Rose climbed in the back and the Doctor sat beside her. Rose placed her head on his shoulder and smiled contentedly. She shivered slightly in her wet clothes so he took off his jacket and placed it over her like a blanket. She smiled gratefully and snuggled closer to him. Pete ignored him and stared ahead as he drove them home.

When they reached the house, the Doctor received similar reactions from Jackie and Mickey.

"Rose, I need a word." Jackie told her.

"Yeah sure." Rose nodded as she made her way to her mum.

"No, with him." Jackie nodded towards the Doctor.

Rose frowned and looked back at the Doctor. He nodded and went to walk out of the room with Jackie. Rose caught his arm and looked at her mum.

"Whatever you have to say to him you can say in front of me." She frowned.

"Alright." Jackie nodded and turned to him. "I want you to know how much pain you've caused this family. Since you've been gone, Rose has struggled to put her life back on track. Every night she wakes up screaming your name and crying. Then you walk in here like nothing's changed and expect everything to be fine."

"Jackie, I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt Rose and I never expected everything to be perfect if I came back even though I didn't think I was ever coming back." He explained.

"Why did you come back? When you leave you're just going to put Rose in more pain. Didn't you think about her feelings before you turned up again?" She shouted.

"Mum, that's enough. I've forgiven him so why can't you? And he's not leaving me because…I'm going with him." Rose told her.

"Rose." The Doctor and Jackie said together.

"Jackie, I've got this. Rose, you have to think about this properly. Give it a few days before you make a decision. Personally…I think you belong here with your family. It's too dangerous out there. I don't think I could live with myself if you…" His voice trailed off.

"I'll be with you. You'll keep me safe, I trust you." Rose said.

"There are so many things to think about. What happens if I regenerate and I'm not the man you love any more? Please just think about it before you decide." He begged.

"I'll always love you no matter what. But I'll think about it like you said, although I'm pretty sure of what my decision will be. Will you stay here in the meantime?" She asked.

The Doctor nodded and turned to Jackie. She gave him a cold but grateful look. Mickey glared at him, not forgiving him as easy as the others did.

"It's late, we should go back to bed." Pete said.

"Yeah. I'll get a blanket and some pillows for the Doctor. You can sleep on the sofa." Jackie told him.

"No it's ok. He can stay with me." Rose said.

Everyone looked at Rose and she gazed back at each of them in turn saving the Doctor for last.

"I think it's best if I sleep on the sofa." The Doctor told her.

"No, it's fine. Come on." She said and pulled him up to her room.

The Doctor avoided the angry looks of Mickey and Pete as he passed them and focused on the back of Rose's head.

She sat him down on her bed while she went to change into some dry pyjamas.

While she was gone, he noticed Rose's diary on the bedside table. It lay open and when he noticed his name written on the page, his curiosity got the better of him. He listened to see if she would return any second before reaching across and taking the book. Flicking to the beginning, he noticed his name occurring many times. The diary was first dated that night he'd left her. He read the passage.

"___He's gone. It feels like my whole world's collapsed around me. It feels as though someone's punched a hole through my chest and ripped out my heart. The Doctor, my Doctor, has gone. Mum, dad and Mickey say he's gone forever and he can't come back and I know it's true but I don't want to believe them, I can't believe them. I won't give up hope. I have faith in him and I love him so much. I wonder what he was going to say before we got cut off. Was he going to tell me he loves me too? Would that have made it harder for us both if he'd have said it or is it worse not knowing? I don't know. Doctor, my Doctor, please come back. I love you."_

He noticed the page was tear stained and the writing smudged. Tears began to build up in his own eyes. He flipped to a more recent date and read.

"___I had the nightmare again last night. This time it was worse. The Daleks and the Cybermen were closer than they've ever been before. The Doctor was there of course. This time he managed to get to me. It looked like he was going to grab my hand but he smiled and faded away, leaving me with them. It's been seven months and I still can't stop thinking about him. Is he still thinking about me? Has he moved on? I don't know if I can ever move on. Mum and dad are always looking at me concerned. Mickey just avoids me. I love you Doctor, please come back."_

Every passage ended in the same way. Always saying she loved him and begging him to come back.

He looked up and saw Rose standing in the doorway watching him.

"I'm sorry I -"

"It's ok, I don't mind. I brought you some of my dad's pyjamas, they might be a bit small. I know you don't sleep but I thought maybe you'd be a bit more comfortable in…bed wearing them instead of your normal clothes." She said quietly.

He noticed she was holding a pair of blue and white striped pyjamas in her hand.

"Thank you." He said and took them from her.

"The bathroom's the second door on the left." She told him.

He walked out and entered the bathroom.

As Rose had told him, the pyjama bottoms were a few inches too short.

When he returned he found her already waiting in her bed, reading her diary. She looked up and smiled at the sight of him. Putting the diary back on the side, she patted the bed beside her. He sat down nervously and slid under the covers. She leant her head on his shoulder.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you so much." He whispered, wrapping his arm tightly around her.

"I know. I'd almost given up hope of you ever coming back. If the TARDIS hadn't brought you here and you did find a way of coming back, would you?" She asked.

The Doctor placed a hand under her chin and pulled her face to look at him.

"Of course I would. I love you Rose Tyler." He told her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Promise me you won't leave me until I've made my decision." She said.

"I told you I wouldn't." He answered.

"Promise me." She insisted.

"I promise." He whispered.

She looked at him for a few seconds to see if he was lying before lying down. He lay next to her and wrapped his arms around her. She lay her head on his chest and listened to the rhythm of his two hearts. Soon, her eyes grew heavy and she drifted off.

The Doctor watched as she slept, running his hands through her hair.

"My Doctor…I love you." She mumbled.

He smiled and kissed the top of her head.

That night, Rose Tyler's dreams were, for once not invaded by the Daleks or the Cybermen and she slept without waking.


	5. Chapter 5

When the sun shone through the curtains, the Doctor slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Rose and made his way downstairs.

Jackie, Pete and Mickey were already awake and sitting in the kitchen. Mickey acknowledged him with a cold glance as he sat at the kitchen table.

"Doctor, I'm sorry about last night and I'd like to thank you. Rose has never slept in this late and last night was the first night in months she hasn't woken up screaming. Thank you Doctor." Jackie told him.

"You had every right to be angry at me. I know it must be hard for you to trust that I won't hurt her again." He replied.

"Doctor, if she chooses to stay here, will you stay with her?" Jackie asked.

Everyone turned to look at him, waiting for his answer. The Doctor was silent for a few minutes before answering. He looked away from them.

"I can't. It's complicated, but I can't stay here." He answered. "I promise this time, if she decides to stay here, I'll say goodbye properly and I'll do my best not to hurt her this time."

Jackie nodded and got up to make him a cup of tea.

Heavy footsteps pounded down the stairs and seconds later, Rose flew into the kitchen. Her eyes scanned the room urgently until they fell on the Doctor. She quickly sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I thought you'd gone." She mumbled.

"I promised I'd stay." He told her.

"I know I just…thought it all might have been a dream." She shrugged.

The Doctor smiled at her and kissed her forehead. Jackie placed a cup of tea in front of them both and sat down at the table.

Pete and Jackie smiled at each other as Rose chatted happily and laughed with the Doctor.

"Have you two got any plans today?" Pete asked them.

"Well, I need to go back down to the TARDIS and try and figure out what happened. There could still be a delayed reaction and this universe could still collapse." The Doctor told them.

"I'll come with you. I haven't been in the TARDIS for almost a year. I miss it." She sighed.

"The TARDIS misses you too apparently. She brought me here without me even asking her to." He told her.

She smiled at the thought.

"Come on, let's get ready." She smiled and pulled him back up to her room.

The Doctor pulled on his clothes and waited downstairs for Rose to finish getting herself ready. He decided to pick up some clean clothes while they were there so he didn't have to keep going backwards and forwards.

When Rose came down, she held his hand tightly and they took a slow walk back to the TARDIS.

"Hello old girl, did you miss me?" He smiled as they walked up to it.

Rose ran inside and smiled as she looked around.

"It's bigger on the inside." She giggled.

The Doctor followed her inside and walked up to the controls. He spotted her jacket on the floor, he must have dropped it when the TARDIS went out of control. He picked it up and handed it to her.

"I believe this belongs to you." He smiled.

"I've been looking for that." She laughed and took it from him.

The Doctor returned to the controls and began to look for any indication to what had happened last night. Rose sat down in the seat across from him and watched him work.

"This doesn't make sense." The Doctor frowned.

"What?" She asked.

"Do you remember when everyone kept travelling back and forth from the parallel universe to the other one and you had to stop because it created holes?" He asked her.

"Erm…yeah, I remember." She nodded.

"Well according to the TARDIS, those holes managed to stitch themselves back together and it became stable again. But that shouldn't happen. How is that possible?" He asked himself.

"I bet that's doing your head in, not knowing what's going on for once." She laughed.

"It's just…this shouldn't be happening. I shouldn't be able to be…here with you – not that I'm complaining." He added quickly.

"I understand." Rose nodded.

"This is one of the great mysteries that will just have to stay a mystery." He sighed.

"So, what do we do now?" Rose asked.

"How about you show me around your new home? Just give me a minute to get changed." He grinned.

"It's pretty much the same as the old one." She shrugged.

"Oh well…what do you want to do then?" He asked.

"I was thinking we could spend some more time together at home. Mum and dad will be out all day and Mickey will be at work so we'll have the whole place to ourselves." She said, trying to not look so obvious.

The Doctor nodded and turned to get changed, smirking as he walked away.

As they walked back to the house, the Doctor began to ask Rose questions.

"So, I noticed you call Pete 'dad' now. How long has that been going on?" He smiled.

"I always called him dad, mostly by accident. He didn't like it at first but he sort of got used to it after a while. He said he liked the idea of being a dad in the end. Oh, that reminds me, guess who's pregnant?" She smiled.

The Doctor stopped suddenly and froze. He stared at her, his eyes wide as he looked down at her stomach.

"You're not…who..? When..? How..?" He struggled to get the words out.

"No, I'm not pregnant. It's my mum." She laughed.

The Doctor sighed in relief and carried on walking.

"How long?" He asked.

"She's three months gone." Rose answered.

"I bet Pete thought he'd got away with not changing nappies and sleepless nights when he got a daughter who'd already gone through that." The Doctor grinned.

Rose nodded, not mentioning about him still getting the sleepless nights before the Doctor came along.

She let them both back into the house and found it empty just as she'd said. Both felt butterflies in their stomachs as they gazed at each other.

Silently, Rose took the Doctor's hand and led him up to her room. She let go of him when they reached her door and stood near the bed. She kept her back to him and took a deep breath. The Doctor walked up behind her and spun her round. He crushed his lips against hers and twisted his hands through her hair. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gasped as he trailed his hands down her sides and rested them on her hips. She ran her hands through his hair and pulled him down so they sat on the edge of the bed.

"I love you." She whispered and went to kiss him again. He pulled away and looked away from her. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think this is a good idea." He mumbled.

"Why not?" She frowned.

"I'm a Time Lord and you're human, it's just…I don't know if it will work." He mumbled.

"You're human enough for me. We'll make it work because we love each other." She told him.

The Doctor looked into her brown eyes and saw the love in her eyes. He thought about it for a couple of minutes before crashing his lips onto hers in a fiery kiss.

Later, the Doctor was lying back on the bed. Rose was curled up into his side. She'd fallen asleep, a small smile on her face. The Doctor watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest and listened to her soft sighs. He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and ran his thumb across her cheek.

In a couple of days, Rose would make her choice. He hoped that she would choose to stay with him but he didn't want to force her. She had her family to think about. But he didn't think he could leave her if she chose to stay at home.

Rose mumbled something and her eyes fluttered open. She looked up at the Doctor and grinned.

"Did you have a good nap?" He smiled.

"The best." She replied.

She rolled onto her side and propped herself up on her elbow. Leaning down, she kissed the Doctor.

"Rose Tyler…I love you." He grinned.


	6. Chapter 6

A couple of days later, the Doctor and Rose stood outside the TARDIS with Jackie, Pete and Mickey standing a few metres away.

"I've made my choice." Rose said. She took a deep breath and turned to look at her family. "I'm going with the Doctor."

Jackie walked up to her and pulled her into a tight hug. When she let go of Rose, she turned and did the same to the Doctor, surprising him.

"Keep her safe for me and don't you dare hurt her." Jackie warned.

"I won't." The Doctor answered.

Pete hugged Rose and shook the Doctor's hand.

"Take care of my little girl." He said, smiling at Rose.

"Don't worry Pete, she's in good hands." The Doctor promised.

Mickey stayed silent and avoided looking at anybody. Rose walked up to him and hugged him.

"I'll miss you." She told him.

"Miss you too." He mumbled.

Rose rolled her eyes and pulled away.

"What is the matter with you? Ever since the Doctor came back you've been acting like…like a child." She shouted.

"He left you Rose. He ruined your life and yet you just forgive him like nothing's happened. What if he does it to you again?" Mickey shouted back.

"He won't." Rose argued.

"How do you know?" Mickey asked.

"I just do." Rose said and walked back to the Doctor. Placing an arm around his waist, she turned back to Mickey. "I love him and I can't live without him."

Mickey looked away and glared at the floor. Rose sighed and placed her head on the Doctor's shoulder.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah…yeah come on." She nodded and climbed into the TARDIS without another look at Mickey.

The Doctor followed her in and closed the door behind him.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You shouldn't leave things like that with Mickey." He said.

"Mickey will get over it and I want to come. Like I said to Mickey, I can't live without you." She told him.

He pulled her into a tight hug and smiled.

"Rose Tyler, you've just made me the happiest Time Lord ever." He grinned.

As the TARDIS engines roared into life, the Doctor noticed a more cheerful sound to them. He ran his hand across the central controls and smiled.


End file.
